The Sapphires

Directed by Wayne Blair, The Sapphires follows four aspiring singers as they’re discovered by a grizzled talent scout (Chris O’Dowd’s Dave Lovelace) and sent on a tour of American bases in Vietnam. Filmmaker Blair, armed with Keith Thompson and Tony Briggs’ screenplay, delivers a mostly affable yet entirely generic endeavor that benefits from its solid performances and rousing musical numbers, as, in terms of the former, Blair elicits charismatic work from his roster of mostly unknown cast members – with the affable bent of the central foursome, coupled with O’Dowd’s predictably compelling (and often scene-stealing) turn, going a long way towards compensating for the overly-familiar narrative’s bumps and lulls. And while the picture never becomes as enthralling or captivating as one might’ve anticipated, particularly considering the inherently-engrossing nature of the setup, The Sapphires‘ proliferation of agreeable, crowd-pleasing elements, as well as its tremendously satisfying closing stretch, ultimately does ensure that it comes off as a watchable inspirational drama.

**1/2 out of ****